BILLINGS - You may think of adopting children as a process that happens long after the child is born, but a new trend has the adoptive parents playing vital roles in the delivery of their new baby.

Michael, Jo and Darian McGullam are celebrating the birth of their new baby Nathaniel. "This is Nathaniel Bryce," Jo said rocking her newborn child. "He's one moth old Thursday." Like any new mother, Jo was the first to hold her new son and Michael cut the umbilical cord.

"Michael and I were in the delivery room as we saw him Nathaniel come into the world," Jo said. "He was born into our arms, literally." But they're not the biologic parents of their new son. They adopted him through Catholic Social Services in an open adoption.

"With an open adoption, what it is is that you know and have some form of relationship with the birth family," Jo explained. Every situation is different, but the McGullam's said they didn't just adopt a baby, they extended their family. They want Nathaniel's birth mom to play a role in his life.

"Right now we refer to her as 'tummy mamma' because she gave him life. And I'm mom," Jo said. "I'm not sure what it's going to turn into, but I know that we will be family."

Darian was also adopted. He joined the family when he was 15 months old. Michael says no matter how a child comes into the home, the will quickly be part of the family. "It's all about the child. It doesn't matter where they came from," he said.

Shelia Howe with Lutheran Social Services said most adoption stories end up just as happily as the McGullams'. "Through 20 years of adoption experience, it's very rare that you would see a family that doesn't bond and attach to a child," Howe said.

Howe added that adopting a child will cost you at least $10,000 dollars, though there are also many tax rewards. The McGullams recommend you research the adoption agency thoroughly before signing any papers. Jo McGullam said she would be more than willing to answer any questions you might have about adoption.

You can e-mail her at sjmcgullam@yahoo.com with your questions.